Bulletin of the Psychoanalytic Research Society, Volume II, Number 1, Spring, 1993
For more than forty years psychoanalytic researchers have been interested in understanding the etiology, correlates and consequences of dependent personality traits in both clinical and nonclinical subjects. Listed below are a selection of some of the most interesting recent writings on dependency. All of these papers have an empirical emphasis. Some come from within psychoanalytic theory while others come from outside psychoanalysis. Perusal of these papers confirms that the field of dependency research is as active and vigorous today as it has ever been.
Birtchnell, J. (1988). Defining dependence. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 61, 111-123.
Birtchnell, J. (1991). The measurement of dependence by questionnaire. Journal of Personality Disorders, 5, 281-295.
Blatt, S. J., & Homann, E. (1992). Parent-child interaction in the etiology of dependent and selfcritical depression. Clinical Psychology Review, 12, 47-91.
Blatt, S. J., Schaffer, C. E., Bers, S. A., & Quinlan, D. M. (1992). Psychometric properties of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire for adolescents. Journal of Personality Assessment, 59, 82-98.
Bornstein, R. F., & Greenberg, R. P. (1991). Dependency and eating disorders in female psychiatric inpatients. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. 179, 248-252.
Brown, J. D., & Silberschatz, G. (1989). Dependency, selfcriticism and depressive attributional style. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 98, 187-188.
Cramer, P., Blatt, S. J., & Ford, R. Q. (1988). Defense mechanisms in the anaclitic and introjective personality configuration. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 610-616.
Duberstein, P. R., & Talbot, N. L. (1992). Parental idealization and the absence of Rorschach oral imagery. Journal of Personality Assessment, 59, 50-58.
Gregory, B. A., & Gilbert, L. A. (1992). The relationship between dependency behavior in female clients and psychologists' perceptions of seductiveness. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice. 23, 390-396.
Hirschfeld, R. M. A., Klerman, G. L., Lavod, P., Keller, M. B., Griffith, P., & Coryell, W. (1989). Premorbid personality assessments of first onset of major depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 46, 345-350.
Juni, S., & LoCascio, R. (1985). Preference for counseling and psychotherapy as related to preoedipal fixation. Psychological Reports. 56, 431438.
Klein, D. N., Harding, K., Taylor, E. B., & Dickstein, S. (1988). Dependency and selfcriticism in depression: Evaluation in a clinical population. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 97, 399-404.
Livesley, W. J., Schroeder, M. L., & Jackson, D. N. (1990). Dependent personality disorder and attachment problems. Journal of Personality Disorders, 4, 131 140.
Masling, J. M. (1986). Orality, pathology and interpersonal behavior. In J. Masling (Ed.), Empirical studies of psychoanalytic theories (Vol. 2, pp. 73-106). Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press.
Mills, J. K, & Cunningham, J. (1988). Oral character and attitudes and behavior related to food and eating. Psychological Reports, 63, 15-18.
Morelli, G. A., Rogoff, B., Oppenheim, D., & Goldsmith, D. (1992). Cultural variation in infants' sleeping arrangements: Questions of independence. Developmental Psychology, 28, 604-613.
Nietzel, M. T., & Harris, M. J. (1990). Relationship of dependency and achievement/autonomy to depression. Clinical Psychology Review, 10, 279-297.
Ojha, H., & Singh, R. R. (1988). Childrearing attitudes as related to insecurity and dependenceproneness. Psychological Studies, 33, 75-79.
O'Neill, R. M., & Bornstein, R. F. (1990). Oral dependence and gender: Factors in helpseeking response set and selfreported psychopathology in psychiatric inpatients. Journal of Personality Assessment 55, 28~0.
Overholser, J. C., Kabakoff, R., & Norman, W. H. (1989). The assessment of personality characteristics in depressed and dependent psychiatric patients. Journal of Personality Assessment, 53, 40-50.
Poldrugo, F., & Forti, B. (1988). Personality disorders and alcoholism treatment outcome. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 21, 171-176.
Robins, C. J., & Block, P. (1988). Personal vulnerability, life events, and depressive symptoms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 54, 847-852.
Rosenkrantz, J., & Morrison, T. L. (1992). Psychotherapist personality characteristics and the perception of self and patients in the treatment of borderline personality disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 48, 544-553
Tesser, A., & Blusiewicz, C. O. (1987). Dependency conflict and underachievement. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology. 5, 378-390.
Zuroff, D. C., & Mongrain, M. (1987). Dependency and selfcriticism: Vulnerability factors for depressive affective states. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 96, 14-22.